WildWind 2015 was the most successful laboratory we have held thus far at TTU, and allow

me to explain why. While both 2013 and 2014 were unique, experiential learning
experiences for both the students in our program and the community surrounding it, this
year we finally understood what it meant to educate, to challenge, to inform, and to include.
With the addition of Artistic Director Michael Legg from Actors Theatre of Louisville and
the Humana Festival, we created an organization that better instructed all disciplines of
theatre while including a performance aspect that embraced the community.
Legg brought with him Kamarie Chapman, a terrific dramaturg from Western Washington
University, who also served as Assistant Artistic Director, and the two of them were
available 24/7 for the entire month to make sure that the lab was running smoothly. Inside
the report, you will see how much students appreciated their easy leadership styles, and
their attention to detail.
In the mornings throughout the week, we held two three-hour master classes that were
geared towards educating the actor/director in one space, and the designer in another.
These classes pushed the students to understand not only the educational world, but also
the entire professional vistaand students rightfully felt challenged, excited, and inspired.
This year, as well, several TTU faculty members joined the students to participate actively
rather than just observing; working alongside their professors fueled the students even
more. Allowing them to share their vulnerability with their teachers.

After lunch each day, we gathered for Artist Access Hour. This gave all visiting artists a
chance to share their professional journeys with the students, and each was always
followed by a riveting question/answer session. We dedicated the afternoon to developing
two plays that we will present in our 2015-16 season, The Pinsky Project and Craiglisted,
each mentored by visiting guest artists and involving all playwrights, designers, and
actors/directors. These three-hour rehearsals attempted to create a true professional play
development model, and within the month, you can bet both plays took many twists and
turns before finding their voices.

And finally, each evening, Legga professional director and developer of new plays
modeled play development in the professional arena. He and Kamarie, acting as dramaturg,
welcomed a new playwright weekly, each with plays in very different places in their
development process, using community actors, alums, and students to further their
development. Every Friday, then, we opened these readings to the community, encouraging
those interested in theatre to come and discuss for free.

Of course, this is just the framework. It cant capture the designers working to create
research for the playwrights; the movement inspired in the morning classes; the personal
and communal breakthroughs; and the individual and weekend learning experiences. We
do have REA Charitable Trust, the College of Visual and Performing
Arts, Herb Armstrong, and a few donors to thank for this terrific event, one that has not
only beautifully serves our students and our community, but has also begun to define TTUs
School of Theatre and Dance as the hub of innovative arts education in the West.
-Dr. Mark Charney,
Director of the School of Theatre and Dance
Executive Director, WildWind Performance Lab

LEARNING FROM THE BEST:

SPECIALIZED MASTER CLASSES

From its inception, WildWind Performance Lab has centered on exposing students to
professional artists at the forefront of their craft. This years program sought to build on
our previous success by providing more focused and specialized workshops and lecture
sessions for performers and designers alike, while still providing opportunities for
students to explore creative areas outside of their typical comfort zone. New artists were
brought in this year while student favorites from previous summers enthusiastically
returned to continue mentoring undergraduates and graduates as they plan for their
careers after college.

Every morning our students were challenged and inspired mentally, physically, spiritually,
and emotionally with three-hour master classes. Bringing in guest instructors provided the
opportunity for many of our own faculty to shed their typical roles as instructors to
collaborate and connect with the students in ways that are not possible during the school
year. This unique experience not only provided great personal growth for all involved, but
also strengthened the School as a whole.
Please allow us to proudly introduce this years team of astounding guest artists:

Michael Legg, Artistic Director

Michael Legg is in his eighth season as the Director of the Apprentice/Intern
Company at Actors Theatre of Louisville, where hes directed world-premieres of
plays by A. Rey Pamatmat, Laura Jacqmin, Dan Dietz, Kyle John Schmidt, Marco
Ramirez, Carmen Herlihy, Alison Moore, and many others. Before coming to
Actors, he spent three years as a theatrical agent in New York and his former
clients can still be seen on Broadway, in television/film, and in regional theatres
across the country. Prior to his time in New York, he spent seven years teaching
and directing and has recently served as guest artist at several universities,
including the University of Central Florida, the University of Idaho, and Ohio
University. Hes also taught for and worked extensively with the Kennedy Center
American College Theatre Festival. He holds an M.F.A. in acting from the
University of North Carolina at Greensboro and is a proud member of Actors
Equity.

Kamarie Chapman, Dramaturg/Associate Artistic Director

Kamarie is a proud native of Washington State. She received her M.F.A. from The
University of New Mexico in 2009 with dissertation work in gender and
playwriting. Kamarie is thrilled to be teaching advanced and beginning playwriting,
theatre theory and dramaturgy, as well as criticism for the Department of Theatre
and Dance at Western Washington University. She has taught and directed theatre
and outreach to many diverse populations and was the Artistic Director of a mixedability company in Albuquerque, NM called Equilibrium Theatre Company (ETC)
in 2009. Kamarie has been an on-going member of the iDiOM Theater (Bellingham,
WA) ensemble from 2003 and is currently on the BoD. She is a member of the
Northwest Playwrights Alliance, The Dramatists Guild, The Association for Theatre
in Higher Education (ATHE) and Artists Trust. Her play Deception Pass: An
American Story was the winner of two national awards from The Kennedy Center
(The David Mark Cohen and co-winner of the Paula Vogel playwriting awards) and
received its Washington State premiere in January of 2013 at WWU. This play was
also the national winner of The ATHE playwriting award. In 2010 her short play,
Dijon Love, was a finalist for the Humana Heidman Award and she was a top five
finalist for the NPA/Seattle Rep/SAG Screenwriting contest in June of 2010 for her
screenplay Avenue D. She has had her work published by NPA and numerous zines
and smaller publications and Western Washington Universitys Jeopardy Magazine.
Most recently she premiered her first musical (co-written with Spencer Willows) at
The iDiOM Theater in 2015; Ded Reckoning: A Space Adventure in Two Acts. She
is absolutely delighted to be on board as dramaturg for WildWind 2015.

Brian Quijada is a New York based, Chicago born performer. Most

recently Brian was seen acting in Playwrights Realms production
of My Maana Comes in New York City (Lucille Lortel and Drama
Desk Nominated). Some of Brians acting credits include: Victory
Jones and The Incredible One Woman Band by Idris Goodwin (The
Denver Theatre Centers Colorado New Play Summit) How We Got
On by Idris Goodwin (Actors Theater of Louisvilles Humana
Festival) Beat Generation by Jack Keroac (Merrimack Rep) The
Solid Sand Below by Martin Zimmerman (The Eugene ONeills
National Playwrights Conference) No More Sad Things by Hansol
Jung (Seven Devils Playwrights Conference) and Informed
Consent by Deborah Laufer (The Baltic Playwrights Conference in
Estonia).
Other acting credits include: (New York) Ensemble Studio Theatre, Repertorio Espaol, The Lark, The Brick, Page 73,
Playwrights Horizon, Atlantic Theatre Company, Up Theatre, Astoria Performing Arts Center, F*It Club, TerraNOVA
Collective, LAByrinth (Chicago) Steppenwolf, Victory Gardens and The People Speak, Live! With Matt Damon at the Metro
Theater. (TV) Blue Bloods, Manhattan Love Story.
Brians first full-length play Where Did We Sit on the Bus? began development at the Nuyorican Poets Caf in NYC, further
development continued at TerraNOVA Collectives SoloNOVA festival, Victory Gardens Ignition Festival in Chicago, and
on The Millenium Stage at The Kennedy Center in Washington DC.

Marvin Quijada is a performer/ writer/ iOS musician and Chicago native, and has
had the pleasure of working with Chicago theater companies such as: Chicago
Shakespeare, Lookingglass, Silent Theater, Goodman Theater, and Teatro Vista;
where he is an ensemble member. Marvin is also an ensemble member with Silent
Theater and can be seen doing clown/ mime work as "Silent Marvin" in their
quarterly variety show, The Wild Party Variety Hour. As an educator, Marvin has
assisted in physical theater workshops with Silent Theater all around the country,
including: Chicago, San Francisco, New York, and Iowa. In Chicago, he also goes
by the iOS musician name "Silent Marvin" and enjoys performing a wide variety of
music styles live on his iPad wherever he can. Check out his soundcloud page by
searching Silent Marvin.

Matt Chapman is a performer, director, and teacher of physical

theatre and clown. He is the Co-Founder and Co-Artistic Director of
Brooklyns Under the Table, collaborating on each of the
companys 11 works produced since its founding in 2001. Recently
relocated to Oakland, CA, Matt spent the last few years on the
Faculty at DellArte International School of Physical Theatre in
Blue Lake, CA. He currently continues his work with the school as
Director of Admissions and Recruiting. Matt has taught Clown at
Marymount Manhattan College and Manhattanville College in New
York, and has taught workshops at such places as the John F.
Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, Actors Theatre of
Louisville, NYU, Vassar, Sarah Lawrence, Towson, the University
of Iowa, James Madison University, University of North Dakota,
NYCs Peoples Improv Theatre, and the Brooklyn Arts eXchange.
He works abroad regularly as well; his workshops, directing, and performances have included South Africa, Denmark,
Colombia, the Netherlands, Canada, Mexico, and England. Matt has held several Clown intensives in collaboration with
Suzanne Bakker in Amsterdam. He teaches annually in Mexico City at UNAMs Festival Nacional de Teatro Universitario.
He has collaborated with NYCs Eavesdrop; Durban, South Africas African Dream Circus; Swedens Cirkus Cirkor;
Denmarks Filuren and Jomfru Ane Teatret; Blue Lakes DellArte Company; Philadelphias Hotel Obligado; and Arcata,
CAs Pequeo Teatro DanceTheatre. Matt works with Clowns Without Borders, writes music for and plays guitar in the
Oakland punk band The Big Forgive, and is a graduate of DellArte International and the University of Kansas. He was a
Round 9 recipient of Theatre Communications Groups New Generations Future Leaders program.
Shannon Robert, Associate Professor of Theatre Design at Clemson
University received an M.F.A. in scene design from Florida State
University. While at FSU, she participated in an international
exchange with the Moscow Art Theatre Conservatory. Shannon was
director of theatre and head of design at William Carey University,
where she taught scene design for 14 years. She served KCACTF as
Region IV design chair (3 years managed the design exposition),
regional vice chair (3 years managed the Irene Ryan acting
scholarships), regional chair (1 year) and served on national design
committees. Shannon served on the board of directors, executive
committee and long-range planning committee of SETC and was the
Mississippi state representative to SETC for four years. After
working in higher education, she managed the paint/craft departments of The Spoon Group Productions in NJ/NY. While
there, she worked on "The Grinch," "Grease" (and national tour), "Xanadu," "Legally Blonde," "Inherit the Wind," "The
Pirate Queen," "Coram Boy," "The Color Purple" (and Chicago production), "Jersey Boys" (and national tour and Vegas),
"Spamalot" (London and Vegas), "Hairspray" (Vegas) and "Sponge Bob Squarepants" (Asian tour).
Shannon has worked internationally in venues in Nairobi, Bratislava, Moscow and Edinburgh and has designed for Aurora
Theatre, Actors Express, Mill Mountain Theatre, New Stage Theatre, Auburn University Theatre, Tennessee Governors
School for the Arts (MTSU), Southern Arena Theatre, University of Southern Mississippi, University of West Georgia, SC
Governors School for the Arts, The Fine Arts Center, The Peace Center, and ReelRock Productions. She was a consultant
for The Saenger Theatre renovation in Hattiesburg, Mississippi, for Albert and Associates Architects. Shannon has worked as
an evaluator, respondent and adjudicator for a number of productions/projects and has presented several workshops and
served on panels throughout the U.S. She served as the Associate Artistic Director and Scene Designer in Residence for The
Warehouse Theatre in Greenville, South Carolina. She is a proud member of USA 829, and serves as a member of the Hollins
University M.F.A. Playwriting Faculty. She received Atlantas 2014 Suzi Bass Award for best set design for a musical for
"Mary Poppins" at Aurora Theatre. Shannon Robert is a scene designer and member of USA 829. She is a member of the
theatre faculty at Clemson University and teaches for the MFA Playwriting Program at Hollins University. Shannon served as
associate artistic director, production manager and resident scene designer for The Warehouse Theatre.

Pirronne Yousefzadeh's recent credits include That High Lonesome Sound (2015
Humana Festival of New American Plays), The Dangerous House of Pretty Mbane
by Jen Silverman (InterAct Theatre Company) and We Are Proud to Present A
Presentation... by Jackie Sibblies Drury (InterAct Theatre Company). She has
directed and developed new work at The Public, New York Theatre Workshop, Ars
Nova, Soho Rep, The Playwrights Realm, Noor Theatre, New Dramatists, The Lark
Play Development Center, The Juilliard School, Williamstown Theatre Festival,
Actors Theatre of Louisville, Milwaukee Rep, InterAct Theatre Company,
Perseverance Theatre, and Hangar Theatre, among others. She is a recipient of the
SDC Denham Fellowship, a Usual Suspect at New York Theatre Workshop, New
Georges Affiliated Artist and member of The Jam, member of Rising Circle Theater
Collective, and an alumna of the Emerging Artist Fellowship at NYTW, Drama
League Directors Project, LCT Directors Lab, Soho Rep Writer/Director Lab, and
ESTs Resident Director Program. Pirronne has been on faculty at Bard High School
Early College, Rutgers University, and the University of Texas - Austin. She is also
a frequent guest director at Fordham University and Ramapo College, among others.
Upcoming projects include The Life Model (On the Boards, Seattle, January
2016). MFA, Columbia University. www.pirronne.com

Eva Suter is a writer and theatre artist, hailing from the great NorthWest. Just
barely now, she graduated with her MFA in Playwriting and Poetry from the
Michener Center for Writers, at the University of Texas at Austin. In Portland,
OR, she was a founding member of The Working Theatre Collective, a DIY
based company dedicated to the production of new and devised works in
unexpected spaces. Eva seeks to make works that converse with the raw materials
of literary heritage, that consume popular culture and higher arts with the same
spoon. This summer she is excited to be invited as a guest artist at WildWind in
Lubbock. She is stoked to have been selected as a 2015 Visionary Playwright by
Theatre Masters, and will be attending the Big Ideas Conference in Aspen this
July. Eva is an alum of Theatre Masters and the Great Plains Theatre Conference
and a finalist with the Playwright's Center Core apprenticeship and Bay Area
Playwrights. Medusa, A Perfectly Normal Girl was awarded the Portland
Drammy for best new play in Spring 2011 and the Oregon Literary Arts
Fellowship in Drama in 2012. Eva is the host of the Beer and Cookies Occasional
Cabaret, rides a bike, bakes bread, and is probably mumbling to herself as she
types this.

Jessica Burr and Matt Opatrny are the co-founders of Blessed Unrest, an award-winning, ensemble-based, experimental
physical theatre company generating original plays in NYC and abroad since 1999. Blessed Unrest has staged 25 full
productions (14 world premieres), and pursues international exchange and partnerships, including with Teatri Oda of Kosovo
with whom they create original bilingual plays. This fall the ensemble received the Caf Cino Award for sustained excellence
from the NY Innovative Theatre Awards. Burr and Opatrny have taught workshops in physical and devised theatre at Texas
Tech University, Centenary College (NJ), Stephens College (MO), and Prishtina University (Kosovo).

Jessica Burr was honored with the 2011 Lucille Lortel Award from the League of
Professional Theatre Women, in recognition of her work as a director and the body of
work that Blessed Unrest has created under her leadership. With Blessed Unrest she has
directed Lying, A Christmas Carol, Eurydice's Dream (for which she and Sonia
Villani received the 2013 NY Innovative Theatre Award for Outstanding
Choreography/Movement), The Sworn Virgin (with Florent Mehmeti of Teatri Oda,
Kosova), The Storm, ArtCamp SexyTime FootBall, A Midsummer Night's Dream,
Measure for Measure, the 365Days/365Plays Festival and Doruntine (with Florent
Mehmeti), co-adapted Lying and Certain Things Which I Will Call Sacred, and
performed in Burn, Crave, Hold; Lying; Certain Things; All's Well That Ends...Well;
Life is a Dream; tea and text for six women; Peer Gynt 1:16:19; The Rover; Destroy,
She Said; and Miss Julie. Other directing credits include Pericles, Danny and the Deep
Blue Sea, and The Love of Don Perlimplin and Belisa in the Garden; and as Assistant
Director to Eric Fraad, Handel's Esther and Messiah, and Carissimi's Jepthe with
Millennial Arts Productions. She has taught workshops in physical and devised theatre
at Centenary College and Texas Tech University, and directed Burn, Crave, Hold at
Eastern New Mexico University. Burr graduated from Bard College in 1996 and became
a traveling street performer, living and working on sidewalks from Scotland to Morocco
with handmade masks and original pieces Layla and Majnun and Zulieka's Love. After a
year spent teaching in Poland she returned to New York to found Blessed Unrest.

With Blessed Unrest Matt Opatrny adapted A Christmas Carol, wrote Burn, Crave,
Hold (Innovative Theatre Award nominee for Outstanding Script), co-wrote The
Sworn Virgin and Doruntine (with Lirak elaj of Teatri Oda, Kosova), co-wrote
Eurydice's Dream and ArtCamp SexyTime FootBall, and co-adapted Lying and
Certain Things Which I Will Call Sacred. He has performed in the Balkan tours of
The Sworn Virgin and Doruntine, 365Days/365Plays, LYING, Peer Gynt 1:16:19,
Certain Things, All's Well That Ends...Well, Life Is a Dream, and Come if You Dare 1
& 2. He appeared Off-Broadway with the Roundabout and Mint Theater Companies,
and has played with National Shakespeare Company (NYC), Theatre By the Blind
(NYC), Fulton Opera House (PA), Vermont Stage, North Carolina Stage, Georgia
Shakespeare Festival, The Warehouse Theatre (SC), Hampstead Players (NH), the
outdoor drama Tecumseh (OH) and at Columbia University. He has taught and
directed movement and stage combat at The School for Film and TV, Greenwich
Academy, and Columbia Preparatory. Matt has taught workshops in physical and
devised theatre at Centenary College, Texas Tech University, and at the Kennedy
Center American College Theatre Festival (region 7). He has served on several grant
review panels and taught workshops in grant writing. He has trained with the SITI
Company and at Clemson University, where he also received a degree in Biological
Sciences, and owes much of who he is to the sea turtles of Costa Rica.

Brian Bauman is a playwright and founder/artistic

director of Perfect Disgrace Theater. His plays include A
Crucible, Attaboy, Buckshot: A Rashomon, Elegy for a
Midshipman, Hells Kitchen, and Porridge.
The mission of Perfect Disgrace is to investigate identity and
challenge dominant power structures in order to create
alternative possibilities, uncover hypocrisy, and encourage
change through theater and community. Perfect Disgrace
Theater is committed to initiating artistic dialogue that avoids
the usual traps of binary difference in order to name and
examine brutality in all of its forms, and to question current
cultural trends and their repercussions. With Perfect Disgrace,
he has produced experimental, queer plays across the country
since 2006.
His work has been presented at Dixon Place, HERE Arts Center, La Mama ETC and Wild Project in New York City; The
Broad Art Center, Los Angeles Contemporary Exhibitions, L.A.T.C. and Theatre of NOTE in L.A.; CounterPULSE, Poets
Theater Jamboree, and the Radar Reading Series in San Francisco; the Boulder Museum of Contemporary Art, The Dairy
Center for the Arts, and the Boulder Fringe Festival in Colorado.
Suzan-Lori Parks says Baumans writing is thrilling, sexy, political and rude. Hes making provocative, in-your-face theatre
not for the timid, or, perhaps just what the timid need.
He is a MacDowell Colony Fellow, a resident of the RADAR Lab residency in Akumal, Mexico, and earned an MFA in
playwriting from the California Institute of the Arts.

Matt Callahan served as the Resident Sound Designer at Actors Theatre of

Louisville for eight seasons and over 50 productions including the world
premieres of The Hour of Feeling, Michael Von Sienberg Melts Through the
Floorboards, Bob, Elemeno Pea, Ground, Sirens, Wild Blessings, The Hard
Boating Party, Slasher, The End, Rock and Roll The Reunion Tour, Dark
Play stories for boys, Great Falls, Beautiful City, The Scene, The Unseen,
Six Years, Pure Confidence and Hazard County.
Other Regionals: Oregon Shakespeare Festival, Cincinnati Playhouse in the
Park, Ensemble Theatre Company, Cleveland Playhouse, Geva Theatre,
Milwaukee Rep., St. Louis Rep., Arizona Theatre Company, Philadelphia
Theatre Company, Walnut St. Theatre, Prince Music Theatre and
Steppenwolf Theatre Company Garage and Studio. Other Credits: Resident
Sound Designer ONeil National Playwrights Conference 2008, 2009.

Associate Professor Rich Brown landed at Western Washington University in

2006 where he currently teaches psychophysical acting, Suzuki, Viewpoints,
commedia, and devising. He has published in Theatre Topics, Theatre Journal,
College Teaching, The Western States Theatre Review, and the book Aesthetics
& Business Ethics, and presented at six ATHE conferences on devising. Over
the past few years he has led Viewpoint Intensives for Teatrul Fara Frontiere at
the National Theatre of Romania in Bucharest and led Devising Intensives for
Bucknell University, Seattle University, Rio Hondo College, Lewis & Clark
College, and Texas Tech U, as well as professional devising companies
hand2mouth (Portland) and Blessed Unrest (NYC). Recently, Rich performed in
The Pillowman at the iDiom Theatre, Poison the Well at the Vancouver Fringe
Festival, Into the Woods and Art at the Mt. Baker Theatre, The American Family
at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival (which he also co-directed), Circle Mirror
Transformation at Idaho Repertory Theatre, and Lying with Blessed Unrest in
NYC. Recent directing credits include the devised works cheat, Us, Soapbox,
/faust, Commedia in the Parks and scripted plays Some Girl(s) and Corktown
(WWU premiere by Jeff Augustine). Rich received a Bellingham Mayors Arts
award in 2008, WWUs prestigious Excellence in Teaching award in 2010, and
the Kennedy Centers American College Theatre Festival awarded him the
National Outstanding Lead Deviser/Director of a Devised Work in 2012. He is
currently devising a new work on neo-masculinity with New York based soloperformer Bill Bowers.

Joshua Conkel is a writer of plays, graphic novels and TV

pilots. He is also a Navy brat from rural Washington State.
Plays include MilkMilkLemonade (Best Off Off Broadway
Show of 2009-NY Press, published by Playscripts), The
Chalk Boy (Published by Original Works
Publishing), Lonesome Winter (co-written with Megan
Hill), The Sluts of Sutton Drive, I Wanna Destroy
You, Sprawl, The House of Von Macrame, Okay, bye
and The Dum Dums as well as countless short plays.
Conkels work has been seen all over the world and
produced/developed by Steppenwolf, Soho Rep, Ensemble
Studio Theatre, Old Vic/New Voices, Dixon Place, The Flea,
The Finborough Theatre and more. He is a member
of Ensemble Studio Theatre. Alumnist of Youngblood, The
Soho Rep Writers/Directors Lab and the TS Eliot Old Vic
US/UK Exchange. BFA in theater, Cornish College of the
Arts. He lives in Brooklyn, New York.

Jaston Williams has been working professionally in the theatre as a writer, actor and
director for over forty-three years and is best known for his creation of and performing
in the Greater Tuna plays, in venues on and off Broadway, D.Cs Kennedy Center,
National Theatre, Warner Theatre and Fords Theatre as well as two command
performances at the White House, The American Spoleto Festival, The Edinburgh
International Theatre Festival in Scotland, Pasadena Playhouse in L.A. San Franciscos
Curran Theatre, The Alliance in Atlanta, Alley Theatre in Houston, The Denver
Center for The Performing Arts, The Tennessee Performing Arts Center, Austins
Paramount Theatre, Galvestons Grand Opera House to name a few. He toured
nationally in critically acclaimed productions of The Foreigner and The Fantastics and
most recently in Tru the one man play in which he played Truman Capote, and for
these various productions was the recipient of such honors as L.A. Dramalogue
Awards, Bay Area Theatre Critics Awards, Austins B Iden Payne and Critic Circle
Awards, and eight nominations for Washingtons Helen Hayes Awards. A Tuna
Christmas was chosen for publication in Best Plays of the Year and Greater Tuna was
cited as Best Texas Play of the 20th Century by Texas Monthly magazine.
More recently he has gained notoriety for his experiential monologue performances including Blame It On Valentine Texas,
Im Not Lying, Cowboy Noises, Camping With Gasoline and his performance piece about a life in the theatre, Maid Marian in
a Stolen Car. Critics have dubbed him Texas Best Storyteller. He will be taking his new show to L.A. this summer and has
just completed a new play, I Saw The Lights, based on the appearances of UFOs over Lubbock, Texas in the early 1950s. He
is most honored to have received the Governor of Texas Award for Outstanding Contribution to the Arts by an Actor, by
former Governor Mark White and is a 2013 recipient of the Texas Medal of the Arts. Jaston lives in Lockhart, Texas with his
partner Dr. Kevin Mooney and their wonderful son, Song Williams.

Feedback from morning sessions:

Rich Brown brought such a positive and comforting aura to the room and it remained there
throughout the entire week. The physicality of the week was strenuous but I discovered things
about myself I never even knew.
-Undergraduate Student
In the mornings, it was finally time to merge the acting and technical student into one big
class with the incomparable Jaston Williams. I think this created a very unique dynamic, one
much different than what we had grown accustomed to.
-Undergraduate Student
I wasnt sure at all what to expect, and in a way that was good. This week our guest artist was
Shannon Roberts. She was amazing. She is a scenic designer. Hearing many of her stories and
her processes on how she designs was very insightful. She talked a lot about how to present
yourself and about finding work in the real world.
-Undergraduate Student
I would just like to say a simple thank you to the students in my class as well as Jamie, Seth,
Troy and Bill who played such a part in making it successful. When I attempt a new
experiment there is always a fear that the whole thing will go down like the Andrea Doria
(look it up) but in the creative hands of such a talented and fearless ensemble I found myself
moved to tears, giggling for joy and intrigued by brave young talent. The directors were
centered and respectful, the actors made each person played so alive and believable and
intriguing that I longed for more stage time for them and the designers painted the
atmosphere with their perfect and beautiful choices that made each little play complete. I
shall not soon forget you and what we created here. You made me proud of all of us.
-Jaston Williams, Guest Artist
to say that it's rare to get a group of artists so willing, so dedicated, and so ready to risk
would be a dangerous understatement. Whatever you are feeding them in Lubbock, order
more of it. What they brought to the table in that environment made everything possible.
-Matt Chapman, Guest Artist

WITNESS, EMPATHIZE, ENGAGE, UNDERSTAND:

OBSERVING NEW PLAY DEVELOPMENT

Whether performers or patrons of the theatre, we all find our first role is that of audience members.
Under Artistic Director Michael Leggs guidance, the evening sessions in this years program were
designed to provide a unique opportunity for both students and community members to witness not
just the rehearsal and performance of new work, but actually to observe the creative process of
developing the play itself. To provide this unique experience, Michael invited several professional
playwrights and collaborators from The Actors Theatre of Louisville and other major hot spots for
new play development in the U.S.
The program invited students, faculty and members of the community to participate in process both
as performers and as audience members. All who attended were able to gain an understanding of the
challenges and triumphs that artists encounter at every stage of creating of an original work.

Feedback from evening sessions:

The night work was wonderful to watch. Theatre pieces that are so innovative and funny are
the types of theatre that I want to create as an artist. Having the people that make them for a
living brought here is a great opportunity and so inspiring to me as a young actor/writer.
-Undergraduate Student
I learned more about directing and fine tuning a script in the evening sessions. It was
interesting to see how Michael and Kamarie worked with a more structured script that was
farther along in the process. There was more precision in how to handle the lines and how to
interpret the script.
-Undergraduate Student
I appreciated having the opportunity to watch Michael direct the actors up close, and thought
that watching Joshua work on rewriting what was essentially a finished piece was very
productive in terms of me being able to observe stages within the revision process of a piece. I
also received a great deal of good advice from both Michael and Kamarie at the end of the
week in relation to the development of my dissertation piece heading into next year. All in all
the experience has been very eye opening, and I am grateful to have been a part of it.
-Graduate Student
The BFA and MFA design students spent the week collaborating on design ideas for Eva
Suter's new play, Sometimes Fire. Throughout the week, we addressed several facets of the
design process: script analysis and dramaturgy, emotional research, specific design research
(by discipline), and storyboarding. At the end of the week, they presented their ideas to Eva
Suter and Michael Legg, who offered their feedback. I can confidently say that the designers
came up with some truly exciting designs, and that they inspired a great deal for both the
playwright and the director.
What ultimately impressed me most was their sense of adventure. Throughout the week, the
designers gave themselves the permission to truly explore, riff, and free associate. Their
creative ideas and inspirations ranges from foley to a photography series of abandoned
buildings. Throughout the process, they sparked ideas for the playwright and the director, and
I have to say: I might steal an idea or two myself! The designers have such promise and
potential, and I look forward to seeing great things from them as they continue on this
journey.
-Pirronne Yousefzadeh, Guest Artist

Transforming Experience into Practice:

Developing Original Work at Texas Techs School of Theatre and Dance

A third element of the WildWind experience took what the students learned through
instruction and observation and gave them the chance to translate these new skills to the
stage. The daily afternoon sessions focused on developing and devising our own original work
in a process that promoted risk taking and exploration. Students and community members
were able to put what they learned from the guest artists into practice, while concentrating on
process not product.

Large projects, geared towards production in the 2015-2016 season, were complimented with
smaller works in the final week that gave the flexibility for students to participate in the
creative process both in their typical roles and beyond. Working on these original pieces, in
tandem with the observation and master classes, made it possible for students to compare
their creative process with established professionals.

Feedback from afternoon sessions:

When we split up and did the group project - I was actually pretty nervous. I am not too good
with designing on the spot, which a lot of times you have to do, and so I got some experience
with that this week! It's not even that I am not good at it, that is my insecurities speaking, it's
that it just challenges me in a good way. It makes me stretch a muscle faster then I am used to
- which benefits me in the long run all around.
-Undergraduate Student
The development of both Craiglisted and Pinsky has been rewarding, and the continued
development of these scripts should yield a great deal of insight into different development
techniques. The use of storyboarding in the Craiglisted rehearsal was of particular benefit to
me, and is already something that I am looking to include in my own development of plays.
-Graduate Student
I feel like as a designer, I now kind of understand where I fit. Found sound is becoming more and
more something that I love integrating into my work. I'm starting to gain confidence in that. Week
two was a success!
-Undergraduate Student
With each exercise, the students made the active choice to go deeper into the work,
challenging their own ideas of what their bodies, their imagination, their voices, and their
emotional responses were capable of communicating. This was a week of foundational work
for these actors, preparing them to play a variety of roles throughout their careers.
-Rich Brown, Guest Artist
To see a group of generous artists check their egos at the door, while providing resources and
insight to a playwright giving birth to new work is an experience that all collaborative artists
should have. The value of a cross-disciplinary approach to serving the work is difficult, if not
impossible, to measure.
Today, a successful artist is necessarily an entrepreneur. The opportunities provided by such
collaboration are invaluable and offer much in the way of practical skill (in addition to
connecting to a number of working artists). Participants are working out muscle groups they
infrequently have an opportunity to engage.
-Shannon Roberts, Guest Artist

IMPERICAL EVIDENCE OF THE VALUE OF WILDWIND:

Feedback on overall impact of WildWind Performance Lab:

I want to say thank you to everyone involved. I have learned more than I ever thought I could
in 4 weeks and it has been a ton of fun. Thank you to everyone who put his or her time into
the program.
-Undergraduate Student
WildWind was such a gift to me, the connections and relationships that were formed during
this process are something money cannot buy and I am eternally grateful. This experience has
propelled me to reach further and push myself to be the best possible artist I can be, I am so
grateful.
-Undergraduate Student
WildWind is a true laboratory, a place to experiment and blow open forms and ideas. It was
an honor to be there with you, exploring with you. We were blown away as we watched
students and faculty side-by-side digging in, opening up, searching, playing, and pushing
themselves and each other. Your work gave us a space to question our habits, challenge our
preconceptions and expectations, and continue our never ending quest to discover what
moves people.
-Jessica Burr and Matt Opatrny (Blessed Unrest)

Looking to the Future:

As you can see, 2015 was a special year, not only because we created an improved
structure, invited fine, generous guests, and hired a new Artistic Director, but also because
we implemented a new assessment model, led by Dr. Marcelo Schmidt, that we hope will
continue to allow us to improve. Dr. Schmidt is a master of assessing creative work, and we
hope to carry what weve learned to festivals and conferences, inspiring others to learn
from what we discovered.
We cant, as you know, do this alone. Texas Tech Universitys School of Theatre and Dance
wants to introduce its students to the professional world, but just as important, train them
to bring the arts into their communities, a mission we share with REA Charitable Trust.
Thank you for your continued support. We are looking in the very near future to
establishing a second WildWind two-week program for dance and to continue to grow the
theatre side as well; you are instrumental in helping us to fulfill our dreams.

Dr. Mark Charney, Director of the School of Theatre and Dance/Executive Director, WWPL